


so if you will please fall in love with me

by cherrykirsch



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Cute Kids, Cute Yachi Hitoka, Cutesy, Dorks in Love, F/M, First Kiss, Introspection, Love Confessions, Pining Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Protectiveness, Summer, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 18:38:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrykirsch/pseuds/cherrykirsch
Summary: “Do… other people really think I’m cute?”“Yeah.” He agrees, with a nod. “You’re really damn cute, Yacchan. Your smile could melt even the coldest of hearts.”This time, Yachi blushes and Tanaka wants to make her do that more, and then she looks up at him and smiles, tucking her hands behind her back. “Even yours, senpai?”





	so if you will please fall in love with me

Yachi isn’t as demure as she used to be, at least not in Tanaka’s eyes. 

Where he is sure that Hinata, Yamaguchi and Kageyama will always view her as someone shy and small oh-so-quiet, he has seen her crawl slowly out of her shell and into the outside world. He has seen her go from a girl who couldn’t look Lev in the eye to someone who would have no problem talking to Ushijima should they cross paths in the shopping district of Miyagi, he has watched her flourish in the company of the volleyball club, and he is glad that they get to see her smile more often than not.

They are sat outside Ukai’s shop, illuminated by the golden sun and the harsh glow of the artificial lights creeping from the inside of the store. His ramune bottle is hanging limply in his hand as he watches her drink her own, humming to herself as she listens to the faint chirping of the cicadas.

“Where are we going next?” Yachi asks him, and he blushes when he realizes that he must’ve been staring. “You said you had an adventure planned.”

Tanaka nods and looks down at his own bottle, tilting it back and forth to hear the marble inside rattle against the glass in a pleasing, inherently summer kind of way. “I do.” He says. “Have you finished your drink?” he asks.

Yachi smiles and holds her bottle up to her face, the only thing inside is the last dregs of her strawberry soda. “Yep.” She chirps before she looks down at his bottle. “You are too.” Tanaka nods and reaches for her bottle, Yachi allows him to take it and he deposits them into the glass recycling. He nods to Yachi and she stands, hurrying over to his side as he begins walking.

She is a picture of summer; white shorts and green t-shirt, and, where it used to barely reach her shoulders, her hair fell to her chest, and she normally kept it pinned back, but today she was wearing it down. Tanaka thinks she looks cute.

“Your hair is longer,” Tanaka says, and Yachi nods, fiddling with her fringe. “It looks nice.”

She peers up at him from between the golden strands. “You think?” She asks.

“You should wear it down more often.” He suggests and Yachi nods again, looking back down at her feet. Tanaka’s cheeks go pink and he looks away. “I mean… only if you want to… you just look cute is all…”

“Cute?” Yachi repeats, looking up at Tanaka again as he goes a brighter shade of pink. She points a finger at herself. “Me?”

Tanaka wonders how she doesn’t know this already, but nods, suddenly feeling very nervous at the thought of looking Yachi in the eye. “’Course you.” He says, trying his best to sound confident. “You’re the cutest. You’ll have to be fending off suitors left and right soon enough, Yacchan.”

Yachi laughs at that, a cute, bell-like noise that warms Tanaka’s chest. “Oh, I hope not.” She says with a faint smile. “I’m not that cute, and I’ll never be anywhere near as popular as Kiyoko was.” Then she pauses, thinking. “Do… other people really think I’m cute?”

Tanaka remembers the boys watching her from the other sports clubs and the way that he and Nishinoya had to chase them off. He remembers the Valentine’s Day Gifts, and the smitten looks that she gets when she’s talking with one of the volleyball club members in the corridors, or when she smiles at them while walking by. 

“Yeah.” He agrees, with a nod. “You’re really damn cute, Yacchan. Your smile could melt even the coldest of hearts.”

This time, Yachi blushes and Tanaka wants to make her do that more, and then she looks up at him and smiles, tucking her hands behind her back. “Even yours, senpai?”

For a while, Tanaka can’t even speak and Yachi giggles behind her hand as he collects himself. Then he reaches out to pat her head, trying desperately to ignore how soft her hair is, and tries his best to smile confidently down at her as she looks up at him.

 “You melted my heart from the beginning, Yacchan.” Tanaka tells her, and he is sure that his voice is dripping with sincerity that he can’t hide. “I’ve always thought you’re cute.” Yachi stares up at him a moment longer before he starts and removes his hand hastily from her head, tucking it quickly into his pocket and shoving his other hand in the other to give off an air of nonchalance.

Yachi hums to herself, looking away from Tanaka and up to the sky. “So guys think I’m cute…” She says, almost like she’s considering it. “I don’t know how I’ll deal with their advances. That’s the one thing I never learnt from Kiyoko.” 

“You don’t have to learn.” Tanaka says, and the words fall from his lips so quickly he surprises himself, going red when Yachi turns back to look at him inquisitively. “I’ll protect you from them, fend them off if you don’t want them. I’ll be your knight.”

Yachi blinks at him. “I… don’t think I need protecting…” She says quietly. 

“I want to.” Tanaka tells her, before hesitating. “If you let me. If you want me to.” 

Yachi stops and Tanaka does too, turning back to look at her as she looks at him, her brows furrowed in a way of adorable cuteness that makes every part of him melt. “You’d do that?” She asks, unsure as she looks down at and fiddles with the hem of her shirt. “For me?” 

Tanaka nods quickly, sincerely. “’Course.”

Yachi considers this. “What about when you leave Karasuno?” She asks quietly. “How will you protect me then?”

“I could be your boyfriend.” Tanaka says and Yachi’s head snaps up to his, her wide hazel eyes meeting his sincere brown ones. She looks like a startled rabbit and he smiles, regardless of how he’s internally cursing himself for his brash choice of words. “Yeah… We could go out.”

“Do…” Yachi begins before she trails off, hesitant, her cheeks flushed as she looks down at her feet almost as if she can't help but hope for something. “Do you like me?”

Tanaka hasn’t really thought about that before. 

Yachi is adorably cute in a way that only she can possess, and he lives to see her smile and the euphoric look of glee on her face when they score a point at matches. She is ten times smarter than he could ever consider himself, and she is warm, approachable and cares for the volleyball club with her entire heart. She could give and give and never receive and still be as kind as caring as ever. He loves that about her.

He remembers all the times he has heard the boys in his year talking about her, discussing ways to win her over. He remembers the anger when he overheard them confess tainted ideas about her in the bathroom. He remembers the helplessness of not being able to do anything but put himself between those guys and her and hope for the best. He remembers the deep feeling of protectiveness that it ignited in his chest.

Tanaka thinks that he does like Yachi. In a quiet way. In the kind of way that you fall in love with spring blooms unknowingly, and in the kind of way that you love something familiar like a favorite t-shirt or blanket.

He wants to know what it’s like to be able to hold her hand in his, what it’s like to kiss her on the lips, what it’s like to love someone as precious and as amazing as her. He knows that he would probably never deserve her, that they are the complete opposites of each other, that they are the most unusual pair. He knows this.

Everyone likes Yachi Hitoka, but he wants to be the man that loves her.

So, Tanaka nods slowly, looks Yachi in the eye and asks, “Would it be a problem if I did?” Her face crumples from shock into something else, and Tanaka’s heart immediately squeezes in his chest.

“No.” She replies after a moment. “It wouldn’t.” 

For a moment, Tanaka thinks that he imagined the words that fell from her lips, and then his eyes widen. “You mean it?’ He asks. “You like me too?”

A smile tugs at the corners of Yachi’s lips as she nods. “Yes,” she tells him. “I like you, Tanaka-senpai.”

Tanaka laughs in pure exhilaration, a gleeful smile plastered onto his face. “Yes!” He cries into the air and Yachi giggles. “Hell yes!” Then he turns to her, opening his arms towards her. “Could I get a hug, Yacchan?” He asks and Yachi nods, crossing the space between them to fall into his arms.

Yachi fits perfectly in his arms and he grins happily as he hugs her close, stroking her hair gently. It is soft and as golden as spun sugar, and it smells like strawberries. She giggles happily against him, leaning back to peer up at him in a way that makes him just want to melt into a puddle.

“Are you still gonna protect me, Tanaka?” She asks. “Be my knight?”

For a moment, Tanaka considers this. “I’ll do you one better; I’ll be your dragon.” He says and she blinks up at him, prompting him for an explanation that he is happy to provide. “Dragons protect precious things, and with hair like that you look just as precious as treasure. So, I’ll be your dragon.”

Yachi smiles up at him. “My dragon.” She repeats. “I like it.” 

“I’m glad,” Tanaka says, a grin curling his lips at the sound of her voice forming the syllables of the nickname. “Because I like you. I’ll be there for you.”

She gives him a smile that rivals the beauty of the stars and slowly, he leans down to press a kiss to the top of her head. He hopes that she knows how much he cares. He hopes that she never forgets it. And he seals his hope with a gentle press of his lips against hers—a kiss that tastes of soda and summer.

In Tanaka’s eyes, Yachi has always been perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: [ cherry-kirsch ](cherry-kirsch.tumblr.com) || twitter: [ cherriwrites ](https://twitter.com/cherriwrites)


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